ABSTRACT
In the world of Twelfth Night, as in the worlds of the comedies just preceding, the spirit of the practiser prevails. Seven of the principal persons are active practisers, and they operate six devices. All action turns on these, and the effects of the play arise from exploitation of the gaps they open. In William Shakespeare's comedies, almost infallibly, two contrasting moments make the great peaks: first, the moment in which, errors having been compounded and various lines of action brought to a central point, confusion is nearest universal, visibility nearest zero; second, that in which confusion is dispelled. Shakespeare capitalizes the opportunity fully but tenderly, and the result is an artistic triumph. Lacking the complexity of some later scenes, in which stair-stepped levels of awareness provide the structure for dazzling cross-play, the scene nevertheless makes a powerful demand for simultaneous conflicting responses.
